A salmonella outbreak linked to raw eggs used in mayonnaise made by Ramona Family Naturals Market has grown to 21 cases, with seven patients getting sick enough to require hospitalization, according to an update published Monday by the San Diego County health department.
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Only one of the hospitalized patients remains admitted for care, a county official said.
News of the outbreak first surfaced in a public health bulletin on July 28. Thirteen cases and four hospitalizations were linked to the same strain of salmonella bacteria, which was confirmed using whole-genome sequencing. The technique compares the genetic code of bacteria collected from different individuals. Identical genetics, combined with interviews of sick individuals, allows investigators to prove that a series of infections were likely caused by the same source.
Friday’s update also indicates that Happy Hens, a Ramona poultry farm, supplied the eggs to the market. The county said on July 29 that the market, which also operates a deli, used the mayonnaise in chicken salads and in Ramona Red Sauce, which it put on sandwiches and “also sold by the bottle.”
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A call to Happy Hens was not immediately returned. However, the business, which says on its website that its 14,000 chickens produce 12,000 pasture-raised eggs per day, posted what appears to be a recorded telephone conversation with a county public health official discussing the outbreak, and its link to its eggs, on its YouTube account early last week.
The post indicates that the farm, which does regular salmonella testing, did not have a positive test in its flock.
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